Penn doesn’t see “anything happening” in 2015

Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Government Relations Eric Schippers led off the discussion of online gambling regulation during the Q&A portion of the call:

“There is a budget stand-off right now in Pennsylvania between the governor and the Republicans. And we’re hoping … maybe at some point, we’re hanging around the hoop for the opportunity that maybe real money internet gaming or another gaming opportunity might come out of the ongoing budget impasse there. So, a lot to be seen what happens in Pennsylvania, but we’re closely monitoring.”

Wilmott immediately followed with his assessment of the situation:

“I think there’s more lawmakers here in Harrisburg that are interested in the revenue potential of all these different options. And I think it’s very difficult to predict. We don’t expect anything happening in ’15, but we’ve been encouraged by the hearings that we’ve participated in, in and around the state of Pennsylvania, that there’s more of an appetite to consider these options than there ever has been.”

From their comments, it sounds as if they believe legislation for this year faces long odds, with the possibility of a bill passing in 2016 or beyond being a more likely scenario.

Pennsylvania has introduced several bills into the state legislature that would regulate online gambling — including one from Republican leadership.

None of those pieces of legislation have found traction during the current budget impasse — now in its third week — between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican legislature.

Penn at vanguard on issue

Penn National has been vocal in its support of an iGaming bill. Schippers called the ability to offer online gambling a “vital tool to enable our industry to continue to evolve” earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Penn National also hired Chris Sheffield, formerly of Betfred, as its head of iGaming.

So one would expect them to be following the issue with unique interest, and for their outlook to skew slightly positive on the prospects for regulated online gambling (if it skews at all).

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Dustin Gouker -
Dustin Gouker has been a sports journalist for more than 15 years, working as a reporter, editor and designer -- including stops at The Washington Post and the D.C. Examiner. He has played poker recreationally for his entire adult life and has written about poker since 2008.